Decorating with a two year old ... sigh - Page 4

I am a SAHM with a 1 1/2 year old daughter. I am pretty new to cake decorating, so I don't have any disaster stories - yet! I definitely can relate to troubles with trying to get things done in general, cake related or otherwise, with little ones. I am lucky to have a very helpful and considerate husband who will usually keep her occupied for at least one day over the weekend so I can do other things. I have usually done most of my cake decorating then, or after she goes to bed. It's just too hard when it's only the two of us at home. Even if she was happily playing by herself beforehand, as soon as I start some sort of project, she will need my immediate and complete attention! And if I try to spend to much time on a project while she is awake, I end up feeling guilty that I am neglecting her. She is also allergic to eggs, so we have some of the same problems as biviana. Very frustrating!

im watching my grandson during the day til 2pm. hes of course the worlds greatest grandchild...( i probably started something now by saying that..haha!) hes 17 months old. so when i have to do some decorating, he has his baking stuff he plays with. i try to keep him busy with that stuff. and my daughter has a play stove that im hopeing to get so when grandma bakes he can bake in his oven too. i figure i have to get him in some kind of routine knowing what he can do while im busy. the busy season is almost here.....best of luck to us all!

I am a SAHM of 3 year old twin daughters. When I'm making a cake they always want to help. I give them a chunk of leftover fondant or play dough if I don't have fondant and a rolling pin and they sit at table and "decorate a cake" too. They have fun and it keeps them busy enough so I can get things done. Whatever I can't get done during the day I finish when my DH gets home from work and can take over with the kids. To date, we have had no accidents...knock on wood! It can be a challange sometimes, but we have to love them!

I'm a SAHM to 2 boys (age 2 and 3.5). They are very good about not touching anything on the counters, so I don't worry about that much. BUT, as soon as I start working, I get the ...... mommy, can I please have ___________ (fill in the blank). Or .... mommy, baby wants _________ (you get the idea). This becomes a constant string of requests by the older one asking for things for him and his younger brother.

I can't blame the little guys for wanting my attention, so I usually plan my decorating around their schedule (early morning, nap time, or bedtime). I've got them on a good sleep routine, so things are pretty predictable as far as planning for things goes. Occasionally, hubby will take them to the mall if I have something big to work on.

I had posted this before on another thread.....I always thought that once I was a SAHM I would get sooooooo much more done around the house. (I can hear everyone laughing now)

I've got a 1, 3 and 5 year old. I gave up a long time ago trying to decorate while they're around. I do it when they're in bed, and if I absolutely HAVE to do something during the day, they either go to daycare or I put the gate up in the kitchen so they can't get in. Before I had a dedicated cake kitchen, I would put finished cakes in my bedroom and lock the door. I can't wait till they're older!

I know what you mean! I had thought the same thing. Boy was I wrong, and so far I only have ONE child!

I feel your pain. I have 2 boys. 4 & 2 1/2. I love to bake and have found a simple solution. Have a batch of frozen sugar cookie dough in the freezer at ALL times. When you need to distract them pull out some dough and let them roll it out while you work. It always seem to distract them. I have childrens rolling pins for them. After they are done let them frost them and eat!

I know this has already been said, but there are fun ways to include the kids. My son is 3.5 and LOVES to help mommy bake. Sometimes if I'm pouring powdered sugar into frosting in the mixer, I give him the little measuring cup and ask for his help. It doesn't slow me down and he gets satisfaction that mommy "needed" his help. He also has is own little kitchen with bakeware and a toy hand mixer that the beaters actually turn. When I'm mixing stuff up often he'll go grab his little mixer and a bowl and mix with me. Other than that, as long as he feels a little included he usually let's me do my thing. Of course there are times when he rightfully demands my attention and I try to be aware of that too!

Oh gosh I can so relate! I'm a mom of 4 boys aged 4-14 and while I've never quite had problems with the little ones, it's the biggest one that drives me nuts. He grabs a spoon, serves himself to bowls of ganache, and his friends hang out and watch. He's not disruptive or rude, just realkly enthusiastic.

Biggest disaster was when 14YO DS came home from school with a his friends. I was drying a bunch of sugarpaste children I had spent hours modelling. I had left them on the kitchen counter, which of course is where everyone congregates in our house and where I normally leave their afternoon snack. When I walked back into the kitchen the boys had EATEN every last sugarpaste child. It was surreal. They thought THAT was their snack of the day.

Another disaster, I was making milk chocolate buttercream and left a huge bowl of melted chocolate to cool. When I got back, my sons aged 6 and 4 and their4 of their friends had found the chocolate. What started as a "dip-our-fingers-and-lick" prank had escalated into "let's cover our palms, hands and faces with chocolate" escapade. $25 worth of chocolate too! I had to make a new batch but I used the tainted chocolate to ice a cake for those boys afterall, they'd already shared their germs so I didn't see the harm of feeding them the rest of the batch.



Lessons learned: have a specific place for my kitchen creations; do not leave on family territory. A gang of boys will actually do things an individual can only imagine. The challenges of a cake decorating with a toddler simply morphs into the challenges of cake decorating with older children.

Oh thank goodness...I am not the only one trying to keep a toddler happy while trying to decorate a cake so that it doesn't look like I was wrestling with a toddler!

I have nothing new to add to all these postings....only that I understand, I know exactly what you are going through, and I'm looking forward to the day (please say it is coming soon!) when my daughter will be able to play happily on her own for a bit while I decorate. Until then, I'll be employing the services of my husband (when he's not at work) to keep her occupied and decorating during naptime and bedtime.

Sometimes I can buy about 20 minutes if I put in one of her favourite DVD's...but it doesn't always work! I find that I can do the baking and make icings while she is around, so I do as much as I can so that all that's left is the decorating and assembling. I'm so blessed to have a wonderful husband who supports me in my business and has on occasion taken our daughter out to the park or wherever to give me some peace and quiet while I work!

I actually bake a little bitty cake for my son to decorate. He still wants to "help" with mine, but I can keep him concentrating on his.

I am a SAHM of 4, but I have a 16 yrs gap between my boys and girls. My boys are 21 (and still at home ) and 19, my girls are 4 yrs and 23 months. You would think that the little ones are the trouble when working in the kitchen, but for me it's the older ones! I keep sugar cookie dough in the fridge for the little ones to do their own thing at the table while I bake, then I also do my decorating while they nap or have cartoon time. You can't do that with the older ones - they just won't stay down for a nap!! They hang over my shoulder, watching... breathing louder and louder ... now the questions start. I answer the first 3 as nicely as I can muster, all the while I'm thinking "the girls will be up in 20 mins... 10mins... any minute now". Slowly I turn into this she devil - shooo, get out of my kitchen or you'll be babysitting! I DO NOT have the patience for training!
Then they bring their friends into the mix! GAWD! I smacked a hand that tried to dip into my icing yesterday, then realized it wasn't one of my guys when he yelped and started dancing around the kitchen in pain. Of course they all think it's funny .... until I mention if I don't get finished on time all of them will be on diaper duty!
Sorry so long.... feels good to vent!

I have a full-time job and only do three or four fancy cakes a year. I wouldn't even think of decorating a cake without arranging for someone to watch my 2-year-old son while I did it. Typically, it's my husband, sister or parents. This arrangement works well because they keep my little mischief-maker out of trouble, but I'm around if they really need me. (A few times when I've been unable to make other arrangements, I've taken a vacation day and let the daycare center watch my son.)

I feel everybody's pain!!!!! I have a 2 1/2 and 1 yo girls and, same thing! I have to do all my stuff when they are asleep and then be careful in the morning so they don't touch the cakes.

However, my problem doesn't end there... I also have 2 beagles and they are worst than the kids!!!!
I had a batch of Christmas cookies wrapped and ready to be delivered on top of the dinning room table (silly me, I thought they were safe there!!). Somehow these dogs managed to move one of the chairs enough so they could jump on it and from there to the table... and you can imagine the rest of the story!!!!!!!!

I don't know if this is too late to help, but I have a 3 1/2 year old and a 3 month old, the baby I just work around her sleeping, but the older one, any time I have extra mix I bake up a few small cakes and freeze them, when I have a big project to do I take one out of the freezer, and she decorates with me. I buy the frosting in the tubes and she has plastic decorations that only she can use, she can't use Mommy's and I can't use hers. It takes the mystery out of it for her and we bond over the fun we share.

For those days she doen't want to help, I have a local kid, not quite old enough to babysit but willing/wanting to learn, watch her for a buck an hour. I am home and there to help, and DD gets a playmate, kid gets experience and a little cash.

Hope this helps.